Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2007

Connie and Erica

Connie and Erica Originally uploaded by shainelee I ran across this photo while searching for another. It's Connie Reece and Erica O'Grady.at social media club austin. - Taken at 6:15 PM on April 19, 2007 -

Prickly Cacti

Prickly Cacti Originally uploaded by WhirlingPhoenix cactus for rgvlife

Drive Down Conway

Here is a video of driving down Conway Avenue through the middle of Mission, Texas . We start from Palmhurst and finish in the community of Madero, a small community South of Mission. Madero is less than 1 mile away from the Mexican border. Unlike Palmhurst, Madero is a part of Mission. Play Windows Media version

Moving the Blog

I'm simplifying my blogging by just having one blog from here on out. Since most of my posts are about me and my experiences, I figure the best thing to do is have a dedicated personal blog. So, I opened up ShaineMata.net today and worked on it a bit. You're welcome to change the links to keep up with the latest. If you followed RGV Life, I may continue that theme as a podcast only. However, it may just be easier to merge that with the new blog.

Coworking.com presentation

Coworking.com presentation , originally uploaded by shainelee . This is an interesting concept for working.

SecondLife

SecondLife , originally uploaded by shainelee . Linden Labs is presenting on SecondLife. There is some info on the war on Grey Goo.

Steel reign

Steel reign , originally uploaded by shainelee . A real-life battlebot, Steel Reign. Visit teamxd.com for more info.

Good times at BarCampAustin

Good times at BarCampAustin , originally uploaded by shainelee . I'm having a good time at BarCampAustin, which is sort of an ad hoc series of tech seminars. Microsoft gave away copies of their ExpressionSession07 software and opened up a $1000 bar tab. Most of the time, whe I start talking tech, people's eyes glaze over. This is not so here. It's a nice change.

Filing deadline

Filing deadline , originally uploaded by shainelee . Today is the last day for Reps to file bills for this Session. I have the honor of being the filer of our last two bills. I took a pic of this note that says "Too late, too bad, so sad. Love, Rob" on Rep Eissler's door. Basically, lobbying for new bills is over. For the most part, lobbying will focus on those bills already in the pipeline. Good thing I went early, a line of other filers formed behind me at the Chief Clerk's office.

Positive Image

Positive Image , originally uploaded by shainelee . A haircut goes a long way towards improving your image. Well, that and shaving. Back in the day when I was a student here in Austin, I had the long hair and scruffy look. I also wondered why I did not get any respect. In time, you learn that the world does not run on ideals. It runs off the whole lot of us who fall short of ideals. Ideally, looks should not matter, but they do. Good grooming goes a long way towards improving our image.

Nice trees

Nice trees , originally uploaded by shainelee . I saw these lavander colored trees and thought I'd capture them.

Penny pinching

Penny pinching , originally uploaded by shainelee . I got through the day without spending a penny on eating today. I had a bowl of oatmeal at home and had a lobbyist join us for lunch. There are several receptions tonight, but I'll skip. Lunch was pretty satisfying. With all the money I've been saving up, I can buy a beer on the way home tonight.

Bad CD, Bad!

Bad CD, Bad! , originally uploaded by shainelee . I got another coaster. The cd burned, but won't play back last night's hearing. Now, I've got to get another copy.

Committee Hearing Today

Today, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence will be meeting at E2.016. The following bills will be heard: HB 1887 HB 79 HB 267 HB 303 HB 1779 HB 495 HB 959 HB 681 HB 184 HB 1212 HB 541 Just as a notice, these bills are scheduled, but there is always the possibility that one or more may be rescheduled. You may see the video feed at the House Audio/Video page later today.

Morning Brewcast Mention

Sisters Jackie Adame and Jennifer Navarrete of the Morning Brewcast made brief mention of me on their latest show . If you recall, I got a visit from Jennifer and her two sons last month. They have an ongoing segment in which they highlight the coffee mugs that people use. All you do is send them a photo of your crusty old mug. If it's not crusty, you're not a real coffee drinker I say. Strangely, the bottom of the cup, which I cannot reach, is clean. It's the area where the coffee reaches its max height that has...something that refuses to come off. I don't take this cup to work because it's the only cup I brought from home, along with 1 bowl, 1 plate, a knife, a fork, and a spoon. If I take the cup to work, then I might forget it and have a horrible time waking up in the morning. We don't want that to happen. I recommend you listen to Jennifer and Jackie if you get a chance. You will hear what high doses of caffeine can do to you. Even if you're not a c...

Down in the committee offices

Down in the committee offices , originally uploaded by shainelee . The committee offices have serious problem with their sameness. The layout is simple, but the uniformness and lack of color make it easy to become disoriented. To this day, I have to think about how I will exit. My mental map is all white like the halls.

Making copies

Making copies , originally uploaded by shainelee . I am assembling hearing packets for distribution this morning.

Connected

When you are involved in heavy minutiae as is common around the Capitol, it's easy to become lost in the goings on that you may or may not have any direct bearing on your life. In a sense, you become disconnected from your life and become submersed in the affairs of the state, the challenges of your boss, and the details of your job. I have found myself disconnected from my own personal mission as of late. We all require some personal time to reflect on where we are and what progress we have made towards our goals. When you put that time off for too long, you grow disoriented, disconnected, uncentered. The past couple of weekends were great because I had the opportunity to spend time with my family. The only downside was that I spent my free time with them or on the road. The result is that I had two weeks of mental junk piling up without a moment to go through it and throw out all the useless information. When you collect mental crap, it clogs up your thinking. This weekend, I am ...

My first landing

My first landing , originally uploaded by shainelee . Today, I went on a bike ride from my place to Zilker Park. I wanted, originally, to look around and find the Green Belt. I read that this was a good trail for mountain biking. When I found the entrance to the trail, I couldn't help going in to check it out. It was a pretty good trail. There was a combination of both rocky and dirt trails. You can see many rocks with marks from bike pedals and other scraping parts. Two miles into the trail, I decided to turn back. There was a small drop that passed between a manhole and a large rock that I attempted to ride through. I hit a rock that turned my handlebar and lodged the wheel with another rock. The end result was that I flew off my bike and landed a few feet ahead of my bike. Unfortunately, the landing was amongst the rocks. I scraped my knee and bruised my left hip really well. I was stunned for a moment when I realized I was no longer riding a bike and in pain. I did not...

Sharks!

Blacktip Reef Shark Sea Life Centre München , originally uploaded by Wolfgang Kopp . No, this is not a post about politics. I feel good about our hard work this week and decided to treat myself to a movie. I went to the Bob Bullock Museum to watch a 3D movie about sharks. It was a great movie. I would love to take my children to watch it if they have a chance to visit this spring break. There are a couple of scenes with jellyfish that really amazed me. The jellyfish seemed to be floating right up into my face. The sharks and other creatures did seem to come off the screen but the jellyfish had the best feel of depth. I never went to a 3D movie as a kid because they were all violent. As an adult, I haven't seen many movies in 3D that interest me. I was skeptical about enjoying a movie in which I had to wear glasses in red and blue. At the Sharks movie, you don't wear colored glasses. I don't know for certain, but I think the glasses they hand out are polarized. It...

Texas Independence Day

Texas Independence Day , originally uploaded by shainelee . Today was a rather slow day, probably the last of its kind this session. Today is Texas's Independence Day. Some offices had skeleton crews, others were fully staffed, and some were completely empty. Every Rep. Has discretion over their own sweat shop (that's a joke only about 5 people really understand). Down at the Committee Offices, clerks do have to show up. It isn't mandatory, but taking time off only makes the work pile up. Clerks have to process incoming hearing requests, which includes entering stuff into a database, writing bill analyses (despite getting one from the author's office), and a bunch of filing. Prepping for the hearing involves assembling hearing packets for the committee members. Usually the pieces to the packets slowly creep into the office up until the day of the hearing. We send out the packets as soon as the more important pieces are available. Some pieces may not arrive unt...

Serranos

Serranos , originally uploaded by shainelee . Today was pay day. Alex and I went to Serranos for dinner.

Texas Association of Builders BBQ

Texas Association of Builders BBQ , originally uploaded by shainelee . The Texas Association of Builders threw together this big event. The food smells delicious, but the line is incredible. I'm better off buying lunch than waiting for a free one. There is much to do today. UPDATE: I forgot we had lasagna in the fridge. I microwaved it and had it for lunch.

No burn

My first stop, after breakfast, was at the committee coordinator's office. Last night's recording did not burn right on the CD. I could not get the CD to play back this morning. It's not a loss. The hearings are recorded on hard drive before burning. They can hook up to the recorder and burn another copy. Last night I noticed my keyboard was gone. I learned this morning that it was intentional to prevent problems. I don't think the keyboard and CD problem are related. I've had a few CDs fail to burn properly at home, they now function as coasters.

The first of many

The first of many , originally uploaded by shainelee . Tonight was the first of what I expect will be many long days at work. Roughly, it was a 14 hour day. The morning was pretty exciting as we prepared for upcoming appointments and Rep Peña's activities for the day. I kind of got sucked into Committee work earlier than expected, but I suppose the need was there. We did what needed doing. The hearing ended a while ago, but the committee work is not done. We have to start preparing for next week already. So far, we have over 200 bills in the criminal jurisprudence committee. Given the amount of time available before the end of session, there is no way we can hear all of them. Tonight, the Chairman mentioned setting up subcommittees to allow a hearing for as many bills as possible. I agree that the need is there. What immediately comes to my mind is that it will complicate the process of organizing the hearings. We would have to juggle multiple timetables to perform certain...

AARP for utility Reform

AARP for utility Reform , originally uploaded by shainelee .

Going to BarCampAustin II

I recently got an email from Jennifer Navarrete of the Morning Brewcast . She alerted me to an event that will be held here in Austin on March 9th and 10th. I think I'll be attending. Here are some copy and pasted details. Bar Camp Austin II - March 9th-10th 2007 BarCampAustin II will be held around SXSW Interactive in March 2007. whurley is currently making venue arrangements and looking for sponsors. If you know any individuals/projects/companies that would be interested in helping support this event, please send contact info to barcamp at whurley.com I'm not 100% certain what BarCamp is, except it has geeky undertones. Naturally, it beckons for me to attend. It's tech related and that's enough for me.

St. Mary's

St. Mary's Originally uploaded by darkmarty .

Questioning Faith

St. Mary's Originally uploaded by darkmarty . Recently, Rep. Peña posted a blog entry about the discovery of a tomb that is said to contain the remains of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary (his mother), and the son of Jesus and Mary M. If this is true, which I don't know if it is or isn't, then I think many people will find themselves questioning their faith, or not. I guess it depends on how you believe. Let's just say that we can conclusively prove that Jesus et al were in that tomb; and we can prove it through DNA evidence. I'm not saying that it has been proven or that it will be. I'm saying, let's just play out the scenario. I've had issues with this in the past. I can see the possibilities in my mind's eye. There will be those who refuse to accept the truth and will call this a trick of the Devil. There will be those who will be devastated for having believed in Christ's death and resurrection, only to find out that it never happened. ...

Headed for Austin

Headed for Austin , originally uploaded by shainelee . After another pleasant day with my family, I'm back on the road to Austin. Today, I spent some time helping my mom pick out a computer at Best Buy and then installing it. She just signed up for Road Runner and her old WinMe computer could not cope with the demands of broadband acess. I also networked the connection so that Mrs Mata can share the Internet connection. One of the computers is connected through ethernet; the other has a wireless connection. Once all that was done, Mom got onto YouTube, which was almost impossible on dial-up. My job was done. I spent my last hours with my in-laws. We celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday at Danny's in Sharyland. Afterwards, i picked up some of my meager belongings from home and hit the road.

Time with my people

Time with my people , originally uploaded by shainelee . It is always a pleasure to spend time with my people. The day started slow. There was no rush to get out of bed in the morning. I spent some time with the boy and the girl. Mrs Mata and I have done a couple errands together. The great thing about this visit home is that t weather got its act together and gave us a glorious day. We essentially hung out at home until the afternoon when we went to a family birthday party. My son had a little incident in which he got whacked in the head with a piñata stick. Poor little guy was going to cry but I distracted him with the candy that fell. He occupied himself picking up candy while I observed the lump on his head. I sent the daughter for some ice. He'll be fine. After the party, we went to my in-laws to pick up the van. He knows a guy who did the bearings and breaks for $40. Total cost was $100. I took the van for a test drive and am satisfied with the result. The day was so...

Catching up with events

I haven't had time to blog lately. I'm off on a little personal time today, so I thought I'd catch you up on the latest. We had our first criminal jurisprudence hearing on Tuesday. I helped in the preparation and clean-up. During the hearing, I witnessed all the testimony as I have a front row seat by virtue of operating the audio recorder and keeping a log of witnesses. Up in the Chairman's office, things are much the same. There are many calls, many visitors, and much work to do. I've been saving money left and right. I'm going home again this weekend. I'm in a win-win deal where I brought a car up to be serviced and I left mine to be serviced back home. That sounds odd, but it works out well for all involved. While I was home, Mrs Mata pointed out that I'm a little squishier around the middle. I'm going to have to practice a little more self-restraint at the receptions. All-you-can-eat is not the same as eat-all-you-can. I have heard several sugg...

Home for the weekend

I can feel the pace picking up at the Capitol. Things are starting to get busier, especially with the Committee. I spent yesterday getting stuff to make packets for the upcoming hearing. I spent considerable time getting a badge to allow me to purchase supplies and copies on the committee account. Sensing the increased pace, I realize that some things will fall by the wayside if I don't attend to them now. One of them being visiting my family. I decided to take a gamble and drive home with the noisy wheel bearing. After work, I hit the road without stopping at the apartment. I topped off the tank at Wal-Mart and bought some nuggets to tide me over on the drive. Before leaving Austin, I called my roommate to let him know I'm going home lest he worry I've disappeared. The reason I decided to gamble getting stranded is that I've often held back because of what "might" happen. I figure that if anything is worth the risk, it is seeing my people. I am also concerned...

Getting outta here

Getting outta here , originally uploaded by shainelee . I'm heading out of the office now. I was doing a little preparation to be ready for my work on the CJ committee. Gina, our committee clerk, split up the duties amongst herself, Anne, and me. We have clearly defined duties and responsibilities. In my case we have settled on split duties between the Rep Pena's office and the committee. I'll be doing half days at each. Talk about getting a great opportunity. The only aspect of legislation I won't experience is being a rep myself. I've mentioned before that I'd rather shoot my dog than be an elected official. Back to the point, I'm getting a well-rounded experience in this session by working both offices. NOTE: I fell asleep typing this in bed last night.

Damian stop spying on me

Damian stop spying on me , originally uploaded by shainelee . I saw this note on a window while returning to the office today.

Different Mindset

I look forward to working in the Committee Office later today. It requires a different mindset from working in the member's office. In the member's office, work is basically reactionary. Individual pieces of data come in and you deal with them individually. Different inputs require any number of different outputs. The committee office is different. You have, essentially, the same item coming in daily and produce the same outputs. This allows for some processing efficiency. You can take random, staggered inputs and produce batched outputs. Each item gets individual attention, but in a dependable, organized fashion. I'll be jumping back and forth between offices for now and will work with both environments. The contrast should be stimulating.

Clerk Too

That title was a pathetic attempt to allude to one of my favorite movies, Clerks II. My other favorite is Clerks. The whole point of my feeble effort is to share the news that I'll be working with the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence more closely. Due to the volume of bills expected to come through, Gina wants to be sure I'm up to speed when it comes time to have all hands on deck. I'm glad to be able to help out. Gina, the Committee Clerk, and I share a common vision to establish a system to brainlessly get bills processed without error, much less a point of order. I am glad to have the opportunity to work with somebody who understands setting up and working with systems. I told her that it gives me a warm feeling in my heart. Gina understands teamwork. My current job as scheduler is up in the air. I refused to call the Rep "Mr Chairman" and kiss his ring, so it's off to the salt mines for me. Seriously, we have not settled on it yet. Being a House staffer...

Mission Grapefruit

Mission Grapefruit , originally uploaded by shainelee . Isaac, Ed, and Gabe from Rep. Kino Flores's Office are preparing to distribute grapefruit this morning. They brought two truckfuls. Later, we had other people stop by the office with more gifts from Mission.

Caught between two systems

Caught between two systems , originally uploaded by shainelee . Yesterday, we focused a bit on getting the first CrimJur Committee Meeting going successfully. It only took a day for a pile of work to build up on my desk. I was fried last night after the Mission Day Reception at the DoubleTree; I wasn't up to working on the pile. It's the sort of thing you do when you are full of energy. I got to work around 6:30 this morning and started working. There is a GTD wiki I've been using. GTD is a system by David Allen that allows you stress-free productivity. This isn't some sort system you buy for $300 and use out of guilt for paying so much. Allen lays out the system in his book, Getting Things Done. It's up to you how you implement. Going back to my original train of thought, I've been using a client-based wiki that uses the GTD methodology (it was free at tiddlyspot.com). It fits me very well. My only concern is that it is in one giant html file and is no...

Mission Day at the Capitol

Veronica de la Fuente , originally uploaded by shainelee . The photo seen here is Veronica de la Fuente. She is the Governmental Relations person for Hidalgo County. We met this evening at the Mission Day at the Capitol reception. This is the only good photo I got at the reception because the lights were dimmed in the room. My phone doesn't do too well in low light. In any case, I am from Mission, Texas. The closest rep to where I live is Rep. Kino Flores; however, I live in Rep. Veronica Gonzalez's district. And, I work with Rep. Aaron Peña. Being that my hometown was present, I could not miss this event. It seems that several Reps could not miss the event either. We had, at last count, about 7 Reps present. Senator Hinojosa was busy in Committee, so regrettably, he could not attend. I should not be, but I still am surprised that Mission is able to attract so much attention to themselves despite being a small town. I guess I'm biased, but I love my home town. Tomo...

House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence

House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence , originally uploaded by shainelee . This is the view as I headed out of the room. I decided to take one last photo of the Committee.

Testifying before the committee

Testifying before the committee , originally uploaded by shainelee . I sat in on the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence for a while and listened to witnesses. It was interesting, but I decided to go back to the office and watch from the computer. This was the committee's first meeting of the session.

Texas Police Chiefs

Texas Police Chiefs , originally uploaded by shainelee . This morning while doing errands to get the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence ready for its first meeting, I came across this group of Police Chiefs from around the state posing for a photo. They were posing for another person, I just walked by and took a shot between takes.

New Food

This evening, Alex and I went to Dobie Mall for a bite to eat. He wanted to eat Chinese, so I remembered that there was a Chinese restaurant there years ago. The closest we found was Oma's Kitchen, which has been there many years too. Except they don't serve Chinese food. I did notice that they have kimchee soup. I don't like kimchee all that much; however, a soup made with it was intriguing. I fully expected to dislike the soup too. This soup was served with a side of steamed rice and extra, cold, kimchee and bean sprouts. I loved it. If I weren't stuffed, I'd have finished everything. The cold kimchee was still nasty, but the soup brought a smile to my face. I love spicy, hot foods. It even made my nose athletic; it started running more than mere sniffles. It's just a short walk to the UT Campus from the Capitol. I'm definitely going back to try more dishes. Dobie has an Indian restaurant and a Greek restaurant. There's other stuff; but those are my ta...

I think I'm getting sick

I think I'm getting sick , originally uploaded by shainelee . Today was a good day in terms of the number of visitors who came in and the quality of work I did. Even my Rep was cooperative in working with the schedule. This was a good Monday, mostly. The only downer is that I am getting sick. It started off with irritated eyes and sniffles. I've worked up to a slight dry cough and more snot. I would take pseudoephedrine, but I hear that it's tough to get these days. I will have my revenge by sharing my illness with the very people who made up the rules that make it difficult for me to feel better. I believe in fairness; we should all be miserable.

Ready to Go Riding

Trek 4500 , originally uploaded by GuySwarbrick . On my last trip back to the Rio Grande Valley, I brought my bike with me. It's a Trek 4500 mountain bike. You may be thinking, are there any mountains in the RGV? No, it's a valley. There are, however, places where you can go riding to hurt yourself. I have issues with riding in traffic and prefer to ride on trails. I haven't been riding since I brought the bike to Austin because I did not bring my helmet, light, or a lock. I could have just bought the lock, but I have a prodigious talent for falling (flying?) off my bike. Thus, a helmet is useful. Also, at the time that I intend to ride, it's still dark, hence the light. If I go riding later in the morning, I'll be in the morning traffic, which is more excitement than I want. One of my challenges for riding to work was that I did not know where to park my bike. I asked House Parking, and they told me where I could put my bike. It's near the exit I norma...

Easy Saturday

I did nothing today. Just stayed at the apartment and watched TV. I woke up at 4 this morning and could not go back to sleep. By the early evening, I've been dragging a bit. I'm turning in early. I was going to see our Chief of Staff, James, at a gig he and the band he plays with had tonight, but I'm just not motivated to do anything. Early this morning, I spoke with Mrs. Mata. She would like it if I go home this coming weekend. She says the kids are a bit affected by my absence as well. They would also like it if I were to go home for a weekend. It's a bad business decision to mess with the budget like that; however, I care for these people and would like to provide them the comfort of having me home for a weekend. If anybody is headed to the Rio Grande Valley this weekend, I would appreciate sharing a ride there and back. Alternativly, if anybody knows where I can change a wheel bearing cheaply in Austin, that would also help. I don't feel comfortable taking a lon...

Edinburg Day

We started off Edinburg Day by meeting in the Rotunda. The plan was originally to meet on the South steps of the Capitol, but it was raining in the morning. Some of the Edinburg delegation took a tour of the Capitol while others went to see a Senate Finance hearing. Later, everybody gathered up in the gallery of the House Chamber to see the Edinburg Day resolution get adopted. Before adopting that Resolution, however, Rep. Peña adopted a resolution for Elias Longoria, Sr, a well-respected member of the Edinburg community. Some of Mr. Longoria's family was present to witness the resolution being adopted. Afterwards, Rep. Peña and Rep. Gonzalez adopted the Edinburg Day resolution. I stole a quick pic while the Senator and Reps were posing with people from Edinburg. They were posing for the Senate photog, not me. This is why they are not looking at my camera. From the Senate Chamber, we went out for a group photo of the entire Edinburg delegation. It took some time to get everybody to...

El Paso Day

Last night, I went to the Margarita Madness reception held for El Paso Day at Serranos . This reception was up there with the Reception for Laredo Day. It was huge! I met a lot of people who I had not met before, which is the mark of a good reception. Of course, there were plenty of the other people whom I have come to know from these events. In the previous post, the Farias boys recognized me from the blog, which amazes me that anybody reads this. So, I took their pic and posted it. In any case, the reception had a huge turnout. The margarita lines were very long. I'm going to post some pics I took on my phone. Some aren't that great, but what do you expect from a camera phone? Here is Rep. Chavez. It's not the most flattering pic, and I apologize for that. She and the gentleman next to her were moving around and my other pics had blurs or looked worse. These are other Border Reps, Guillen, Gonzalez, and Peña. Here is Philip Song. I met him the other day at the McAllen Day...

The Farias Boys

The Farias Boys , originally uploaded by shainelee . I met these gentlemen tonight at the El Paso Day Reception. It was Margarita Madness all the way. Seen here are Clifton Walker, roger garza, and David Shank.

Highs and Lows

Highs and Lows , originally uploaded by shainelee . I'm starting this post on the low note because I'd rather end on a high one. There's no sense feeling bummed out after blogging. So, here goes. This morning, I dropped the ball on a couple of things. I won't give you the details because it involves more than just me. Furthermore, the details don't add anything more to the basic fact that I messed up. Some people can't admit to making mistakes, which makes it impossible to learn a lesson and do better. In my case, I'll accept that I messed up. In my experience, leaders don't shift the blame to their team. Having been a boss, I know that when we fell short of expectations, it was my fault for not doing a better job of preparing us for the task. I consider myself a leader of sorts in this session, so it is incumbent upon me to accept responsibility. You know the rule, share the glory and take all the blame. Leadership is about serving your team (n...